Indian startup CEO | Unicorn | Global Indian

Global IndianstoryHow five Indian-origin founders of US unicorns are disrupting the tech world

How five Indian-origin founders of US unicorns are disrupting the tech world

By: Global Indian

(January 31, 2022) India is shining amidst the 500 unicorns in the US with over 90 Indian descent founders, according to a study compiled by Ilya A. Strebulaev, professor of finance at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Out of 1,078 founders across 500 US unicorns, 90 entrepreneurs were born in India. Here’s are five founders who featured on the august list.

Postman

Founder: Abhinav Asthana, 33
Year 2014

Indian-Origin Founder | Abhinav Asthana

Who could have thought that API (Application Programme Interface) development platform Postman would become India’s highest valued SaaS (software-as-a-service) startup overtaking the likes of Freshworks and Icertis? But Postman scripted history by becoming the most valued Saas unicorn after raising $225 million at a valuation of $5.6 billion. Founded in 2014 by Abhinav Asthana, the Indian startup is an enterprise SaaS platform for API development, and helps product management, developer operations and engineering departments to collaborate and accelerate the software development process.

In a digital world, simplification of app writing or app testing and helping millions of apps to interact with each other is a huge business, and Postman’s founder is helping build powerful and effective APIs. Calling for the need of API product managers and designers, he tweeted, “System architects are also handicapped by their own understanding of the internals of the systems they have built. Again, nobody cares. If you want the adoption of your API to grow, replace these people with API product managers and designers who can empathise with customers.”

Abhinav was just 13 when he started designing websites but his entrepreneurial journey began at BITS Pilani, which later took him to the US where he started Postman.

With over 17 million users and 500,000 organisations on its platform, Postman is helping foster a strong and thriving API ecosystem.

Follow Abhinav Asthana on Twitter and Linkedin

Workato

Founder: Vijay Tella, 56
Year 2013

Indian-Origin Founder | Vijay Tella

Founded in 2013 by Vijay Tella, Harish Shetty, Gautham Viswanathan, Dimitris Kogias and Alexey Timanovskiy, Workato lets companies integrate a range of data and apps to automate business workflows. The platform delivers robotic process automation, integration platform as a service, business process automation, and chatbot capabilities in a solution designed to enable IT and business teams to collaborate keeping security, compliance and governance in mind. According to the company website, its founding team has been largely involved in building some of the earliest integration platforms. They came together once again to re-imagine integration for an Indian startup and Workato is a result of this.

The company recently raised $200 million which took Workato’s valuation up to $5.7 billion. In a statement, Tella said, “It has been an incredible journey being at the front of this next wave of automation with our customers and partners, and we are excited to see what the next year will bring. Connectivity is where the rubber meets the road for our customers. Their first question is often ‘Can you work with all my applications?’ Workato is the leader in integration with support for the most number of applications, over a 1,000, in the market today.” The leading enterprise automation platform was awarded Employee Onboarding Solution of the Year Award in the 2020.

Follow Vijay Tella on LinkedIn and Twitter

Automation Anywhere

Founder: Mihir Shukla
Year 2003

Indian-Origin Founder | Mihir Shukla

The explosion of bots automating business processes has created a big opportunity for Automation Anywhere catapulting it into the league of Silicon Valley’s highest-valued unicorn startups with a $300 million funding. “Never before has there been such a transformative shift in the way we work, with artificially intelligent software bots changing how people, processes and technology interact for productivity gains,” said Mihir Shukla in a statement.

It was in 2003 that Mihir Shukla, Neeti Mehta Shukla, Ankur Kothari and Rushabh Parmani joined hands to begin Tethys Solutions, later rebranded as Automation Anywhere in 2010, to help develop robotic process automation software. The Indian startup provides cloud-native and web-based solutions to help organisations rapidly start and scale their process automation journey. A visionary in the automation space, Shukla is named as one of the top 50 Best CEOs for large companies from Comparably.

Follow Mihir Shukla on Twitter and Linkedin

Instacart

Founder: Apoorva Mehta, 36
Year: 2012

Instacart Founders | Apoorva Mehta

Backed by marquee investors like Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Khosla Ventures, grocery delivery and pick-up startup Instacart came as a godsend for many Americans during the pandemic. The Indian startup company reached a valuation of $39 billion in March 2021. Founded in 2012 by Apoorva Mehta, Instacart saw a drastic increase in profits when the pandemic forced a change in lifestyles. The grocery delivery and pick-up startup offers services in the US and Canada via a website and mobile app and allows customers to order groceries using personal shoppers.

In 2021, Mehta stepped down as CEO, and assumed the role of executive chairman. He tweeted, “I’m excited to share that we’ve recruited @fidjissimo to join us as Instacart’s new CEO as I transition to executive chairman on August 2. As one of the most formidable consumer tech leaders in the world, I’m thrilled to partner with Fidji.” At 33, Mehta went on to become one of the youngest billionaires in history. Mehta, a former Amazon employee, was born in India and moved to Canada in 2000. An engineering graduate from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, he worked with companies such as Blackberry and Qualcomm, before branching off on his own. In 2013, he was featured in the Forbes 30-under-30 list. In 2016, he made it to America’s Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40 list and in 2021 he was included in the TIME100 Next.

Follow Apoorva Mehta on Twitter and Linkedin

Lacework

Founder: Vikram Kapoor
Year 2015

Lacework Founders | Vikram Kapoor

Founded by Vikram Kapoor, Lacework is a data-driven security platform for the cloud. The Lacework Cloud Security Platform is powered by Polygraph, and the start-up automates cloud security at such a scale that its customers can innovate with speed and safety. The Indian startup, Lacework has customers all over the globe who depend on the organisation to drive revenue, bring products to market faster and safer and consolidate point security solutions into a single platform.

Founded by Kapoor in 2015, it is headquartered in San Jose, Calif, with offices globally. Backed by Sutter Hill Ventures, Altimeter Capital, Liberty Global Ventures, and Snowflake Ventures, etc, in a short span of seven years, the startup has earned good accolades. It emerged as Data Privacy Day Champion in 2018 and 2020 respectively by the National Cybersecurity Alliance.

Vikram Kapoor, as co-founder and CTO leads the company’s strategic technology and architecture roadmap. Prior to Lacework, Vikram led Bromium’s engineering team in delivering solutions supporting Bromium’s vision and business goals. Before this, he managed the Database Storage Engine group at Oracle RDBMS and was the lead architect for Exadata technologies.

Kapoor studied at the Indian Institute of Technology, Benares Hindu University, Varanasi before doing an MS in computer science at the University of Minnesota.

“Since we moved to the cloud, it’s very hard to take a hardware box to the cloud, even with the virtual boxes, it’s really not that clean, or with good architecture, so what we found was that was that you really need a new way to think about it. And we think about it as really a big data problem,” Vikram explained on a youtube interview at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon NA 2019.

Follow Vikram Kapoor on Twitter and Linkedin
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First among equals: Who is Rishi Sunak, the man leading the race for UK’s PM?

(July 16, 2022) "Rishi is one of the most decent, straight people with the highest standards of integrity I have ever met in British politics." Former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was one of the candidates eliminated in the first round of voting on July 13, threw his weight behind former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, for whom he was full of praise. With Priti Patel bowing out of the Prime Ministerial race and Attorney General Suella Braverman winning a paltry 27 votes in the second round of voting, Conservative Party MP Rishi has emerged as the Indian-origin strongman, topping the first round with 88 votes. Global Indian takes a look at Rishi's life and his rise in politics. A glowing article in The Tatler, describes Rishi from his days waiting tables at an Indian 'curry house' named Kuti Miah. The restaurant's owner was friends with Rishi's parents, Yashvir and Usha. Which is not to say that Rishi Sunak comes with a tear-jerker of a rags-to-riches, immigrant in the UK origin story. Far from it. Born to a physician father, while his mother ran a pharmacy, his life was decidedly upper-middle class. Far from his exotic, immigrant status giving him

at Rishi Sunak comes with a tear-jerker of a rags-to-riches, immigrant in the UK origin story. Far from it. Born to a physician father, while his mother ran a pharmacy, his life was decidedly upper-middle class. Far from his exotic, immigrant status giving him a leg-up, Rishi's upper crust life has made him 'less relatable' among the hoi polloi, which could prove to be a disadvantage. What's more, the re-emergence of an old clip, in which he says, "I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper class, I have friends who are, you know, working class, but... well, not working class," could hamper his prospects. However, for a man who has overcome great odds as a candidate of colour in a conservative party, it might not be too big a hurdle to overcome.

[caption id="attachment_27001" align="aligncenter" width="830"] Rishi Sunak. Photo credit: Rishi's website[/caption]

Despite early hurdles, Rishi was quickly picked out as a rising star - according to The Tatler, this quality was spotted early on, even by his former boss at Kuti Miah. That year, in 1998, as the then 18-year-old Rishi was all set to enter Oxford University, his boss remarked, "You're going to be someone, Rishi." Sure enough, the fiercely patriotic young man, who grew up, thanks to his parents, immersed in the local community, never looked back.

Head boy to hedge funds

His broad grin, which he flashes generously, belies the seriousness that lies beneath - Rishi's flawless record goes back a long way, he was Head Boy at Winchester College, an independent boarding school for boys and also editor of the school paper. He went on to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, where he first dipped his toes in politics, as an intern at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters. He graduated in 2001, which was also the year he gave the fateful interview about his 'working class friends' to Middle Classes: Their Rise and Sprawl.

After graduating from Oxford in 2002, Rishi joined Goldman Sachs, where he worked for three years as an analyst. He, then, moved onto The Children's Investment Fund Management, a hedge fund firm and became a partner in 2006. That year, he moved to America to get his MBA from Stanford University, as a Fulbright Scholar.

It was at Stanford that Rishi would meet his future wife, Akshata Murty, daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayan Murty, marrying her in 2009. As the media is only too happy to point out, the couple is the 222nd richest people in Britain, with a combined fortune of £730 million as of 2022.

[caption id="attachment_27002" align="aligncenter" width="724"] Rishi Sunak | Global Indian Rishi Sunak with his wife, Akshata Murty[/caption]

In the political fray

Rishi's entry into politics began in 2015 when he won the constituency of Richmond, North Yorkshire in the general elections, becoming the Conservative Party's rising star almost instantly. His entry, however, was not well-received by other conservative candidates, who resented this apparent upstart claiming territory they believed to be theirs. His victory was even more noteworthy because he contested "as a rank outsider," according to the Business Standard, "in the 97 percent white, prosperous rural Conservative bastion of Richmond in Yorkshire, where, the joke goes, there has been no immigration since the Norman conquest in 1066." However, his right-wing economic views - Rishi is an enthusiastic believer in free markets and a vocal critic of Brexit - helped him secure a historic win.

In 2018, Rishi was inducted in the UK government by then British Prime Minister Theresa May. At 37, Rishi was a Conservative party MP (Richmond, Yorkshire) with great promise, entering the government as the parliamentary-under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Incidentally, he was joined by another Indian-origin MP, also a pro-Brexit campaigner - Suella Braverman, who was Suella Fernandes at the time.

Rishi went on to make several contributions in the House of Commons, on issues like digital economy, social mobility and foreign direct investment. "From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future," Rishi told the media back in 2018.

Rishi Sunak | Global Indian

On a sticky wicket?

As a conservative candidate of colour, Rishi Sunak's position is always likely to be precarious. Will he usher in a post-race era, or speak up for the hyper-local, ethnic problems that minorities face in the UK? Always fiercely patriotic, his loyalty to the UK cannot be called into question. However, he remarked, to the Business Standard, "British Indian is what I tick on the census, we have a category for it. I am thoroughly British, this is my home and my country, but my religious and cultural heritage is Indian, my wife is Indian. I am open about being a Hindu." Although he is given to phrases like "Oh crikey," he does speak a smattering of Hindi and Punjabi.

In 2019, Rishi became the first Indian-origin to be named Chancellor of the Exchequer, taking over 11 Downing Street as one of the most powerful people in England. His term was, admittedly, fraught with controversy - he was charged with breaking lockdown laws, for instance. And the debate around wife Akshata Murty’s non-dom status (it exempted her from paying some ₹196 crore in taxes) continues to rage on.

On July 5, 2022, Rishi resigned from his post as Chancellor of the Exchequer, withdrawing support from PM Boris Johnson over a sexual harassment scandal within the government. He did, however, refuse to badmouth Boris, calling him, "one of the most remarkable people I've ever met." He said, in no uncertain terms, that "he would have no part in a rewriting of history that seeks to demonise Boris." With that final, noble gesture preceding his entry into the prime ministerial fray, perhaps Rishi Sunak will have his own chance at rewriting history after all.

Follow Rishi on Instagram and Twitter

Reading Time: 6 min

Kheyti: Earthshot Prize-winning startup revolutionising agriculture for small farmers

(September 11, 2023) As a teenager, Sathya Raghu Mokkapati saw a desperate and famished farmer eating mud to satiate his hunger in his village in Andhra Pradesh. That moment left an indelible impact on Sathya, who decided to do something for the farmers. 13 years later, he co-founded Kheyti in 2015 to bolster and amplify farmers' income via their inventive 'greenhouse-in-a-box' approach, which went on to win the Prince William's Earthshot Prize in 2022. Winning a £1 million prize was nothing short of a watershed moment for Kheyti as the spotlight was suddenly turned on the Indian startup, that designed the "greenhouse-in-a-box" for smallhold farmers. With India home to 100 million small-hold farmers and one of the most climate-affected nations in the world, the startup helps reduce costs, increase yields, and protect livelihoods in a region on the frontlines of climate change. Kheyti also trains and supports farmers to ensure their greenhouse is as effective as possible. [caption id="attachment_33509" align="aligncenter" width="804"] Kheyti's Kaushik Kappagantulu with the Earthshot Prize 2022[/caption] "We are honoured to be recognised by The Earthshot Prize this year. The world depends on its small-hold farmers and yet their lives are amongst the hardest on earth. Our Greenhouse-in-a-Box

t="536" /> Kheyti's Kaushik Kappagantulu with the Earthshot Prize 2022[/caption]

"We are honoured to be recognised by The Earthshot Prize this year. The world depends on its small-hold farmers and yet their lives are amongst the hardest on earth. Our Greenhouse-in-a-Box is empowering farmers in India today. The steps we have already taken at Kheyti are now building to change farmers' lives at scale," said Kaushik Kappagantulu, co-founder, Kheyti.

Moreover, Prince William surprised South Londoners this July when he served plant-based 'Earthshot burgers', whose ingredients were from a greenhouse in India by Kheyti.

The beginning

Before Kheyti, Sathya and his long-time friend Ayush Sharma, started Cosmos Green, a startup in the agri space. It was during the same time that the inception of Kheyti took root when the two embarked on a journey across hundreds of Indian villages in 2015 as participants in the Acumen Fellowship, a leadership development program. Their mission was to gain insights into the challenges confronting small-scale farmers, including issues like insufficient rainfall, untimely rains, erratic heat patterns, and the threats posed by pests exacerbated by high temperatures.

During those months, the duo along with co-founders Kaushik K and Saumya came across many farmers who expressed their desire to increase their monthly earnings. They found their solution in the greenhouse as farmers could cultivate premium crops like cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, and even flowers throughout the entire year, regardless of the dry season's drought. This led to the birth of Kheyti's 'greenhouse-in-a-box', an economical and adaptable greenhouse solution that consumes only 10 percent of the water compared to conventional greenhouses while yielding sevenfold more produce. Furthermore, it ensures a consistent and reliable income for farmers. This resilient greenhouse effectively mitigates heat, keeps pests at bay, and conserves water, thereby simplifying the process for farmers to boost their income.

[caption id="attachment_44729" align="aligncenter" width="732"] Kheyti | Global Indian Greenhouse-in-a-box[/caption]

The impact

Initially made out of bamboo to keep the costs to a bare minimum, the greenhouse structure was blown away in the first storm. They then settled for steel structure by taking the help of local banks to finance farmers for its $4,200 cost, while the startup provided them with seeds, fertilizer, and knowledge to help them plant the new crops. Over the years, they continuously worked to bring down the cost of a greenhouse to $1200, which is affordable by most farmers without financing. "No other company in agriculture has been able to deliver so much impact attributable to one product," co-founder Saumya said in an interview.

Traditionally used for growing exotic vegetables like broccoli, the startup has made the greenhouse effective for growing almost all Indian vegetables, including leafy vegetables and common ones like potatoes. Starting in 2015, Khyeti installed their first greenhouse in 2017 in Siddipet in Telangana, and have till now benefitted over 1000 farmers in six states.

30 Kheyti | Global Indian

By reducing the traditional one-acre greenhouse size to one-tenth, the startup has successfully lowered the cost from ₹30 lakh to just ₹60,000, ensuring accessibility and affordability. "Agricultural incomes are dependent on climate risk. Kheyti provides a model of farming which is economically viable and environmentally friendly too," Sathya said in an interview.

"Today, 1,000 farms have a Kheyti greenhouse, but this is just the start. By 2027, Kheyti wants 50,000 farmers to have a Greenhouse-in-a-Box."

Follow Sathya Raghu Mokkapati on LinkedIn
Follow Kaushik K on LinkedIn
Follow Kheyti on Instagram

Reading Time: 4 min

How Indian fashion designer Saisha Shinde gave transgenders a shot in the arm, and Miss Universe Harnaaz her look

(January 3, 2021) In January 2021, an acclaimed celebrity designer daringly came out as a trans woman, surprising many who heard the news. Fast forward to December 2021, this Indian fashion designer’s talent was recognised by the entire world when Miss Universe Harnaaz Sandhu wore the designer’s sparkly phulkari-inspired ethereal gown at the Miss Universe pageant held in Eilat, Israel. Meet the sassy and bold National Institute of Fashion Technology-alum Saisha Shinde, whose new identity and work has the world starstruck, not just because of her bespoke outfits but also her incredible talent. Formerly known as Swapnil Shinde, Saisha’s Miss Universe milestone is all the more special because this is her first grand achievement as a trans woman. “I never get tired of telling people how I’m feeling about this feat because it’s a historic moment for India and me. I feel blessed to have this win in my kitty. I was in college when Lara Dutta was crowned Miss Universe and I have been designing for pageants, especially Miss India for seven years now. But as Saisha, my first Miss India project led me to the Miss Universe gig, so this victory is all the more special,” smiles the

e more special,” smiles the Indian fashion designer who started accepting her alternative sexuality at NIFT.

[caption id="attachment_18420" align="aligncenter" width="485"] Harnaaz Sandhu, Miss Universe India 2021, wearing Saisha Shinde's creation.[/caption]

Designing the stunning gown that Harnaaz sported, Saisha says, “Harnaaz trusted the experts completely. I always ask my clients a few basic questions - favourite colour, where they hail from, favourite flower etc. Having known that Harnaaz is from Punjab, where the phulkari motif originated, I wanted to take the phulkari geometric shape, and convert it into a mosaic. Miss Indias’ have a specific look, so we needed to follow that and make Harnaaz look exquisite.” The NIFT graduate interned at the renowned House of Versace in Italy, which has given her a depth and versatility evident in her designs.

How the "trans" journey began

On Saisha’s coming out, she reveals that that her simple Maharashtrian parents, albeit shocked, accepted her truth wholeheartedly. “My relationship with my mother has grown leaps and bounds. We always underestimate our parents – it’s important to communicate with them with respect and not rebellion. In other situations, you have to be rebellious sometimes,” quips Saisha. She also touches upon how living in a democracy should mean that people can voice opinions for marginalised communities like hers, “The only way to spread the message is to shout, I do it with full swing when the work is not done on time!” she tells Global Indian.

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After years of being Swapnil, why did Saisha decide to come out this year? “I knew that I was going to come out. I was waiting to accept it. I could not see myself leading a double life – I wanted to live a life of truth and have nothing to hide. I came out for myself - I didn’t expect it to become what it became, but I’m glad it did because it’s opened doors for a host of trans people in India. It’s been inspiring to get inspired by others,” says the gutsy designer, who received overwhelming support on social media after her announcement.

Coming out has lifted a huge burden off the 39-year-old’s mind, yet it comes with its share of difficult learnings too. “I now understand what women go through every single day. Women are expected to behave, talk, dress and sit in a certain way. As a male, I didn’t have to face this. It didn’t even occur to me that I had to sit and stand a certain way. As for my professional life, I’m lucky to hail from an industry that’s accepting and more inclusive than any other profession - they have accepted me with open arms. We have so many gay men, lesbian women and trans men and women behind the scenes and we’re all paid properly and treated well. I always felt a sense of security here,” says Saisha who hails from Maharashtra.

[caption id="attachment_18421" align="aligncenter" width="501"] Saisha Shinde[/caption]

How her designs emulated her persona

After years of designing clothes for women as a man, Saisha admits that after she came out as a trans woman, the way she looks at women’s design has changed drastically. “At first, I would create without thinking too much about the woman or what she’s about. Now, I’m conscious about what I’m making and for who. Earlier, comfort played an insignificant role when designing, but now, comfort is the number one priority. For me, it’s a revolutionary change,” she muses.

As someone who designs for Bollywood stars, how does the film industry see trans people? “Many are ignorant and have pre-set notions. A few trailblazing transwomen like Gazal Dhaliwal and Trinetra Haldar are breaking norms. It’s just a matter of time when representation of our community will be visible in films or TV shows,” mulls Saisha.

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A post shared by S A I S H A S H I N D E (@officialsaishashinde)

Being different, being true

When it comes to the alarming stereotypes about her community, Saisha shares, “Everyone thinks that transgenders are eunuchs and that’s not the case. They also think that we have a disease that’s contagious and that they might turn trans if they touch us! People also think that men dressing as women for entertainment and humour are ‘us,’ but that is not ‘us.’ Those are men who are cross-dressers or men who are doing drag.”

Dressing the stars

On the work front, Saisha’s clientele includes Bollywood superstars like Madhuri Dixit, Kareena Kapoor and Anushka Sharma. Her all-time favourite is the woman she grew up idolising. “When I was in school, I’d lock my bedroom door and dance to Madhuri’s songs. Eventually, I got to work with her and that alone made me feel successful. She’s so amazing to work with – she’s loyal and gives one creative freedom. I also like dressing up Deepika Padukone as anything you give her looks good on her!”

In the world of fashion, Saisha’s idols include the late Wendell Rodricks, Anaita Shroff Adajania, Shaleena Nathani, Eka Lakhani and Sabina Chopra (her mentor since day one). Her future projects are the magnum opus Ponniyan Selvan: I, directed by the Mani Ratnam, where Saisha got to dress up the ethereal Aishwarya Rai. “In collaboration with Eka Lakhani, we have created costumes for Aishwarya, Trisha and a few other cast members. I get to work with Mani sir and that’s a dream come true. I’ve also designed for Deepika for a song in Pathan (which stars Shah Rukh Khan) and there are a few other interesting projects in the pipeline.”

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A post shared by S A I S H A S H I N D E (@officialsaishashinde)

Shinde hopes to make metro inhabitants aware of the trans community, and hopes the community will get a separate employment quota one day. “They should be able to get legal documents without hassles. Once this happens in big cities, we can target tier-2 and 3 cities,” she adds.

When she’s not working, Saisha is inevitably engrossed in fashion shows on TV, and voraciously reads about fashion. Having trained at Shaimak Davar’s dance school in jazz and funk, she now intends to learn Bharatanatyam and Kathak. Saisha’s also has another aspiring dream – to be awarded the prestigious Padma Shri like Manjamma Jogath, the first transgender to bag the award. “I felt so proud when I heard that. I prayed that I stand in her place one day,” she signs off.

Follow Saisha Shinde on Twitter and Instagram

Reading Time: 6 min

Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan receives UK’s Royal Order of Merit by King Charles III

(December 1, 2022) King Charles III has appointed six new members to the British Order of Merit. They are the final Officers of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBEs) chosen by Queen Elizabeth II. Among them is the world-renowned structural biologist and Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan. Ramakrishnan is also the first Indian to have been elected president of the UK’s Royal Society, the world’s oldest independent scientific academy. Ramakrishnan, who goes by ‘Venki’, believes that people like him are “token representatives of science,” the “lucky ones whose work was recognized,” maintaining that there are “many other brilliant scientists who are doing a great job.” [caption id="attachment_32314" align="aligncenter" width="815"] Venkataraman Ramakrishnan | Photo Credit: Academy of Achievement[/caption] Talking about the breakthrough work that led him to become a Nobel laureate, the Global Indian remarked in an interview with Academy of Achievement: Of course I was practising leadership during the entire research work but I could have never done the work by myself. It was a team effort, lots of scientists made significant contributions. "Science is not a sporting competition” Ramakrishnan struggled enough during the early years of his career, rising above the odds and eventually

me a Nobel laureate, the Global Indian remarked in an interview with Academy of Achievement:

Of course I was practising leadership during the entire research work but I could have never done the work by myself. It was a team effort, lots of scientists made significant contributions.

"Science is not a sporting competition”

Ramakrishnan struggled enough during the early years of his career, rising above the odds and eventually winning the Nobel Prize in 2009. The day the prize was announced, Ramakrishnan was in a bad mood – he had had a flat tyre on the way to work, forcing him to walk the rest of the way and arrive late. When the phone rang with the big news, he thought his friends were playing a prank on him.

He shared the laurel with Ada Yonath and Thomas A Steitz for their breakthrough work in the sphere of ribosomes (minute particles within living cells, that perform biological protein synthesis). Their contribution to science opened up new possibilities in the development of antibiotics.

[caption id="attachment_32315" align="aligncenter" width="618"] Indians in UK Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Dr Ramakrishnan receiving Nobel Prize in Chemistry from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden in 2009[/caption]

Exciting as it is to win the Nobel Prize, Ramakrishnan doesn’t believe that science is a race, where reaching the finishing line first makes a winner. “I’m not a fan of prizes,” Ramakrishnan admits.

In an interview with Academy of Achievement he said:

Science is not a sporting competition where you can measure who came first. If at all you want to compare it to sports, then it’s like soccer where the entire team makes the efforts to bring the ball to the point where finally one person scores the goal.

The early days

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district in 1952, when his father was abroad doing his postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States. Later, in 1959, his mother obtained a PhD in psychology from McGill University, completing it only in 18 months. Growing up with two stalwarts left its mark on Ramakrishnan.

Ramakrishnan went on to pursue his undergraduate studies at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, on a National Science Talent Scholarship, graduating with a BS degree in physics in 1971. Immediately after, the young graduate moved to the US at the age of 19 for his higher studies. He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in physics from Ohio University in 1976.

[caption id="attachment_32316" align="aligncenter" width="677"] Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Dr Ramakrishnan in early days of his life[/caption]

Rising above the odds

After he finished his post-doctoral research fellowship at Yale University in the 1970s, Ramakrishnan decided to apply for teaching jobs. He reached out to over 50 institutions in the US, receiving only a line of rejections for his efforts. The Nobel laureate says, “I was actually lucky in the end to (at least) get a job at the National Lab (Brookhaven National Laboratory).”

In his own words, his ‘background was slightly weird’ because after he got his PhD in Physics, he transitioned from Physics to Biology. It meant starting over, spending the next two years studying Biology as a graduate student at the University of California, applying a ‘weird technique of neutrons scattering to solve a biological problem’. “So, they just sent my application to pile B,” he remarked.

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

As far as getting a job in the four-year degree colleges were concerned, Ramakrishnan said, “they probably thought, ‘look at this guy’s long name, he is from India, we don’t even know whether he can speak English. How do we know whether he would even be able to teach and he has this slightly weird background, and so I went into pile B for them too.”

Changing tracks

Finally, when he landed a job as a staff scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, in Upton, Suffolk County, New York, he was delighted. He worked there for twelve years and got the opportunity to continue with his study on ribosomes. It was a new area of research then.

[caption id="attachment_32317" align="aligncenter" width="687"] Venkatraman Ramakrishnan | Cover of Dr Ramakrishnan's book on ribosome[/caption]

“I think I got into ribosomes somewhat by accident,” by reading about it in a journal and developing great interest in it, he remarked. The subject lay at the “crossroads of biology,” and Ramakrishnan felt it was a part of biology that required a knowledge of physics to be understood in totality. It was at this intersection, he believed, that he could add value to the ongoing research.

I was lucky to hit on a problem that had such a long lifetime and still be interesting. That doesn’t happen very often in science.

Ramakrishnan told about his research.

Moving to the United Kingdom

As he worked in the USA, Ramakrishnan learned that work on the macromolecular particle in ribosomes had been happening in Britain for a while. A breakthrough was coming, he knew, and he was determined to be part of it. After 24 years of stay, he bid goodbye to America, sacrificing a higher salary and a host of wonderful colleagues to start over in a new country. In 1999, he moved to the UK.

[caption id="attachment_32323" align="aligncenter" width="1007"] Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Dr Ramakrishnan addresses summit delegates in Mayfair, London in 2017 | Photo Credit: Academy of Achievement[/caption]

Ramakrishnan joined the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in UK, where the focus was on employing diverse methods in biology, physics and chemistry to understand biological processes at molecular levels and find long-term solutions to global problems. The laboratory had also churned out a number of Nobel laureates over the years. “The salary was much less but there was a lot more freedom and stability in terms of what I wanted to do,” Ramakrishnan remarked.

Life choices

The decision to move from the US to the UK, sacrificing some tangible and intangible benefits, proved to be a good one. Ramakrishnan and his team were able to reach a breakthrough in the study of ribosomes, as he had hoped. By uncovering its complex structure, they were able to solve many problems.

Winning the Nobel prize was the cherry on the cake. “For an academician in UK, winning a cash prize is quite a big deal.” He was able to make some of his dreams come true with the amount that he received.

[caption id="attachment_32318" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Dr Ramakrishnan receiving Padma Vibhushan from former President, Pratibha Patil in 2010[/caption]

The scientist, who holds dual citizenship with Britain and America, has won numerous recognitions and accolades in his eventful career. In 2002, he also began making frequent trips to his homeland - India. Every year, the Global Indian spends a few months giving lectures at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

Ramakrishnan married art student Vera Rosenberry when he was just 23, and the couple have remained together since. She is a children’s book author now with 30 books to her credit. The couple live in the village of Grantchester near Cambridge, enjoying their 47-year-strong marriage.

Awards and honours conferred to Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan:

British Order of Merit, 2022
Knight Bachelor, 2012
Padma Vibhushan, 2010
Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2009
Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine, 2007

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Reading Time: 5 mins

Over the Moon: Lakshmi Mohanbabu’s art will adorn ISS, then be relaunched to Earth’s satellite in 2025

(April 24, 2022) On February 19, 2022, the NG-17 Cygnus arrived at the International Space Station, with Indian-origin astronaut Raja Chari taking the lead on the mission. The Cygnus freighter spacecraft went bearing a very unusual load - The Moon Gallery. This is the Moon-Mars Mission 2022-25, an “international, collaborative art installation, housing the seeds of a future, shared interplanetary culture.” On February 18, the test payload carried 64 works of art by 100 artists from around the world. Each work is no bigger than one cubic centimetre. Among this elite group is Lakshmi Mohanbabu, the “first Singaporean artist in space." The Indian-origin artist and architect, who has been based in Singapore since 2001, is holding up what looks like a tiny, orange cube – a replica of the originals that are currently orbiting the Earth from the International Space Station. The intricate, labyrinth of patterns on each side, slowly become clear – these are based on the philosophy of yin and yang, she explains. Created in collaboration with scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, the process began two years ago, Lakshmi says, in an interview with Global Indian. The Moon Gallery will spend 10 months aboard the International Space Station before returning to

Technological University, Singapore, the process began two years ago, Lakshmi says, in an interview with Global Indian. The Moon Gallery will spend 10 months aboard the International Space Station before returning to Earth. By 2025, it will be re-launched to the moon, permanently.

“I had to create an artwork that could withstand conditions in space,” she explains, “There's not much atmosphere, the gravity is lower and there is a huge temperature difference.” When sunlight hits the moon's surface, the temperature rises as high as 127 degrees Celsius (this 'daytime' lasts 14 Earth days). When the sun goes down for a fortnight, the temperature plummets to a bone-chilling minus 173 degrees Celsius.

Preparing for a space odyssey

To start with, Lakshmi contacted the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster, who put her in touch with NTU. In collaboration with two scientists, she was presented with “a bunch of prototypes.” Settling on aluminium, the miniscule works were based on her 'Interactions' series, from her days as a student of design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi. Each painting has two sides, representing the duality of all things - the positive and negative, yin and yang- and their constant dialogue with each other.

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As a design student, she is fascinated by concepts that could encompass humanity, universal laws and countless symbols. The symbolism, she admits, “can be difficult to understand,” and she often provides detailed explanations alongside - somewhat resonant of the French modern master, Marcel Duchamp. Like him, she describes herself as a thinking artist whose works require explanation.

“The positive cannot exist without the negative,” Lakshmi says. There is no light without darkness. “My design is based on the wave form - the crest and the trough. All energy is transmitted through waves.” The “spiral,” another universal symbol - is the form of human DNA and the shape of our galaxy.

Created through 3D printing, the first cube is bright orange. “It’s about fire, progress and the energy that drives us,” she says. The second cube was made in collaboration with Dr Matteo Seita, assistant professor, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, NTU who manipulated the orientation of molecules.

Onward to the moon

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The much-anticipated moon landing is only a segment of Lakshmi’s plans. For instance, she is already in talks with NTU to create mega cubes for public spaces in Singapore and the world “As an architect, I feel like it has to occupy all spaces.” As a fashion designer, Lakshmi is “translating it into scarves and shoes, which will be sold in the metaverse. The entire series is available as NFTs on the metaverse. “I have space sounds incorporated into the animation, because it’s based on a piece of art that has actually been in space,” she says. She created a range of carpets, and is working with Singapore’s Moon Festival and its famous “moon cakes.”

Via Singapore to the Moon

Born in Trivandrum, Lakshmi never actually lived in Kerala. Her father was soon transferred to Sikkim, back when it was still a Buddhist kingdom. “There was no religion at home,” Lakshmi recalls. In the late 1970s, the family moved to Afghanistan, where Lakshmi spent the better part of her childhood. “Just before the Soviet invasion,” Lakshmi remarks. “I could hear missiles whizzing overhead - you then get used to things,” says the artist wryly. Her time in Afghanistan was vibrant, and a culturally diverse experience which also highlighted human universality.

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She returned to Manipal University, Karnataka, where she graduated with a degree in architecture, met the man she would marry, then moved to Delhi, working with Rajiv Goel Architects and Benjamin and Benjamin (now Benjamin, Benjamin and Vats). Then, surprisingly, she chose to study fashion design at NIFT, “for all the wrong reasons,” she laughs. Following her sister into NIFT. A degree in fashion design, she worked with renowned designer Tarun Tahiliani, and was part of his first-ever show. She also taught at NIFT till in 2001, Singapore came calling, and she left with her husband.

The art and its muse

Her other major series, Expressions, sits in the same philosophical space as Interactions. These paintings are instantly captivating, vibrant and bold - presenting a suite of human emotions. Again, it is the sense of universality, duality and balance that she sets out to capture. “There is joy and agony, you can't have one without the other,” she smiles, adding, “Today, we interact constantly and travel. You visit a place, pick up something that appeals, but no matter what you do or where you go, you're still you.”

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Reading Time: 6 min